Gavin Waldbillig isn’t starting as Polk County’s catcher as a freshman because of his bat.
Oh, make no mistake about it, it’s certainly there. He’s hitting almost .300 and is a producer in the middle of the lineup.
He’s not back there solely for his defense, either, though he’s great at that area of the game as well.
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He’s back there, in a position that demands constant high-level attention, because Wolverines’ coach Billy Alm knows his mind, and because he had no trouble trusting a freshman to handle what’s needed.
“I’ve known him forever,” Alm said. “And all the kid thinks about is baseball, all the time. So it was pretty easy. As soon as he stepped on this campus, it was hey, you’re gonna be the guy. And that’s the most important position on the field.”
It was almost put on hold. An injury early in the fall threatened to keep Waldbillig off the diamond this season.
“I was injured around August, and it was a few months I wasn’t able to swing,” he explained. “I broke my hammate bone (a small bone on the side of the wrist that affects grip), and it was just a swinging issue.”
Fortunately, he recovered in time to help the Wolverines this season. And he’s jumped right in.
“My approach is the same it’s always been – look for something that I can hit,” he said. “It doesn’t always have to be a strike, just something I can hit good. The approach behind the plate is just doing what I usually do out there.”
Take a recent shutout win over Mountain Heritage as an example. Polk County pitcher Noah Harden threw a complete game, four-hit shutout. Waldbillig caught every pitch.
“He was spotting up really good, and his off-speeds looked really nice,” he said. “He was just throwing strikes.”
Waldbillig has already built a relationship with the Polk pitching staff that would allow him to point out something that wasn’t working.
“(Harden) most of the time knows what’s working and what’s not.” Waldbillig said. “Sometimes I’ll go out there and talk to him and see how he’s feeling. But I feel like we do have that connection pretty well.”
One reason Waldbillig is so proficient at handling pitchers might be his ability to pitch himself. He traded his gear for a trip to the mound against Mitchell earlier in March, coming in to pitch in the bottom of the sixth with the score tied and the bases loaded with two out. He struck out a batter to escape the jam, and pitched a scoreless seventh for the win.
He also earned the win in Saturday’s 10-9 victory over East Henderson and helped himself at the plate, driving in the game-tying run and scoring the winning run.
His future, though, is behind the plate. And Alm thinks the trajectory for that future is off the charts.
“He came back just when we got started, so he’s been getting stronger and stronger every game,” Alm said. “He’s just a kid, he’s got some dog in him. He’s gonna get the job done. I’m expecting him, by the time he’s done, to be somebody who’s feared when he gets to the plate. He’s the best catcher we’ve had here really since Cedric Pickett.”
Waldbillig said everything comes down to his love of the game.
“I can’t think of anything I don’t love about it,” he said. “I love that failing is not always a bad thing, even though I still have to accept that. I love the people. I love the sport in general.”
